Assurant under review, says profit will decline

<![CDATA[The U.S. Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (USCIIO) recently accused Assurant, a large health insurance provider with policyholders nationwide, of raising health insurance rates and premium prices without reason - an act which Assurant claims will hurt the company's profits in the coming months.

According to the USCIIO, Assurant has not only raised its prices unreasonably, but has done so more often than any other provider, and is the only company to be cited for doing so within this fiscal year.

According to Bloomberg, Assurant has raised rates by 10 percent or more on premium health plans 31 times in 12 states since October. The highest increase was recorded in May, when the provider raised prices by 24 percent on plans covering 17,666 people in Wisconsin.

The USCIIO stated that because Assurant could not justify these increases, the provider needed to adjust the rates.

Assurant Chief Executive Officer Robert Pollock predicts that the adjustments will have a negative effect on company profits.

"The changes, and ultimately a more normal housing market, will mean that our lender-placed revenues will decline, and so too will our profits in this business," said Pollock during a recent phone conference with Bloomberg and other industry analysts.

Pollock and Assurant spokespeople insist that any rate increases made by Assurant were justifiable. According to Pollock, premium prices vary based on location and amount of coverage.]]>